VOR Collision

Vestas 11th Hour Racing was sailing at 20 knots in second place of the Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4. Approximately 30 nm from the finish in Hong Kong they collided with a fishing vessel.

Race Control at Volvo Ocean Race headquarters was informed of the collision by the team moments after it happened at approximately 17:23 UTC on Friday January 19, 2018 (01:23 local time on Saturday morning). Vestas 11th Hour Racing immediately stopped racing, informed us at Race Control of the incident (at 1736 UTC), sent a Mayday distress signal on behalf of the other vessel and aided in the search and rescue mission.

The Volvo Race organizers asked Akzonobel, and later Dongfeng, to stand by. The fishing vessel sank. No injuries were reported for Vestas, however one of the ten fishermen was seriously injured and later died. Vestas was able to motor in to Hong Kong with the boat heeled to starboard to keep the holed bow out of the water. Some photos have been released:

Vestas boat, on the hard after the collision (AFP)Bow of the Vestas boat after the collision